Writing in Reverse

Characters and Transitioning

Transitioning characters to different parts of themselves, in my opinion, is really essential to making them realistic and relatable.  That's what I didn't do for Island Rush as much as I needed to do it in Handcuffed.  In my mind, characters can be sometimes just as important as the plot because the plot depends on the characters. 

With Albany transitioning into a better person and actually liking it, her stubborness needed to step in.  She didn't want to have feelings, even if she felt somewhat welcome to it.  She was still ashamed by it.  And she knew she didn't want to have Luke around, influencing that anymore, even when she liked being around him.

Though I brought this internal conflict in the story as a part to show her struggle to adjusting to a nicer way of life, it really highlighted her personality. And I think that's important for all characters.  It's relatable because a lot of the times it leaves the reader questioning her.  "Why does she keep wanting to run away?  Because she actually likes how she feels?"  or "Why would she hide from her feelings if she likes it?"  It's the complexity here which really makes Alabany stand out.  Because something you just cant understand - and that's people. Instinct that doesn't make sense.  She tried over and over to get away but it wasn't just a focus on not wanting to be there anymore.  It was about running away from being happy.  It was scary to her - and she didn't like feeling 'weak'.  She wholeheatly believes that when you have feelings, you are weak.  And she couldn't dare be weak, no matter how rewarding that could be.

So she kept trying to run away.  Even after Luke made that deal with her - over staying if he promised to protect her from Clare.  And though Albany respected and agreed, was even going to follow through with it, she did end up breaking that deal.  Because that just wasn't enough.  It wasn't until Luke promised to get her a better life that she finally gave in.  And it wasn't because she was giving into her feelings exactly either. She never had hope in her life.  And when she saw that little chance Luke offered her... she was smart enough not to pass it up, even if it meant staying and getting 'softer.' She began to value her future over her unrealistic values in keeping control through not having feelings. And it was one of the first times she showed a bigger meaning in responisibility.  Giving up that tough image and feeling for the chance for a better life.  And though it was never really shown later of Luke directly giving her a better life through a job and clearing her of being insane... he did it a different way.  Though the ironic way of minipulating her hard shell and making her feelings she wanted to avoid the only way to live a better life.

It's through this that transition, a deep change like this, that gives a definition to a character.  Even Luke took advantage of this.  He found her facinating no matter his possition.  He wanted to become her friend and understand her, even if he knew he couldn't believe her claim of being sane.  It was because she stayed that made him more dynamic later on in the story.  He slowly began to show himself changing with her, and not in the way of showing emotion like she was.  But through his more dazed view of perspective and what it meant to be a kid again along with someone who didn't experiance it either.

Though main characters transition all the time, I knew I couldn't focus just on them.  When the time came to eventually introduce Luke's side of the family, it was to give the story a more natural feel.  People don't live their lives with only a few people surrounding them.  Family exists.  And Luke's family not only were meant to show Albany the strange concept of family love, they showed a deeper side of Luke.  Because it's family can make people look at Luke differently.

Introducing Jan as his mother was key in showing Albany's more vulnerable side to the idea of a real mother.  Jan needed to have an eligant air to her that made you know the minute you meet her that you can trust her.  The way you have your characters present themselves is very important in this too.  Like through Jan's clothes - very formal, very warm and comfortable colors too.  The same goes with most other characters - where you can see trasitions in clothing as the story moves along, mostly in Albany (just like the symbolic nature her hair has being up in that bun).